Someone to Call My Lover
"Someone to Call My Lover" is the second single from Janet Jackson's 2001 album, All for You. Written and produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the song was released on June 26, 2001 and was a success on the charts, reaching number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, while reaching the top-ten in Canada and the top-twenty in Australia and UK. Background "Someone to Call My Lover" was written and produced by Janet Jackson, James Harris III and Terry Lewis. The song's looped guitar riff is sampled from America's 1972 hit "Ventura Highway", with Dewey Bunnell receiving writing credits. The loop played throughout the chorus is an interpolation of "Gymnopédie No. 1" by French classical composer Erik Satie, played in 4/4 time instead of the original 3/4. Jackson had searched for years for the catchy Satie track. "When I was a little girl and I used to come home from school, there was something called "The 3:30 Movie", and they used to play the MGM Musicals. There was a commercial. I remember watching Singin' in the Rain and there was a commercial with the lady all in white, and I don't know if it was for Dove or something like that, but they would play this, 'Da, da, da.' It was the Erik Satie. I never knew who the composer was, and this song never left me." Jackson said she came across the tune again about seven years later: "I was at Ralph Lauren and I said, 'Oh, my God! Is this the radio or is this a CD?' I said, 'Please tell me it's a CD.' They said, 'It's a CD—well, actually it's a Ralph Lauren CD and we don't have it anymore. I was like, 'Oh God...no,' and they gave me the CD." Jackson said, "I took it straight to Jimmy Jam and said, 'Jimmy, I've just got to share this with you,' and he saw my passion and my love for it. He didn't take the actual song, but he kind of put his own flavor to it in 'Someone To Call My Lover,' which takes me back to my childhood." In an interview, Jimmy said, "And for 'Someone to Call My Lover,' she hadn't heard the 'Ventura Highway' sample before. She hadn't heard those songs. So it's kind of fun to come up with stuff like that and play it for her. And she hasn't heard of it, but she still really likes it. So you have something that's going to appeal to people that haven't heard it before, it's going to catch them, but it's also going to catch the people who are nostalgic about it." Composition At the time of recording, Jackson had just divorced her longtime husband, René Elizondo, Jr., after nearly ten years of marriage. "Someone to Call My Lover", and several of the other songs on the All for You album, use Jackson's divorce and re-emergence into single life as central themes. "Someone to Call My Lover" talks about being determined to find a perfect match. The sample of America's "Ventura Highway" opens the single, accompanied by fingersnaps and some bass. In the beginning, Jackson has began touring again and there isn't anyone to talk to and she wishes she had companionship, ""Back on the road again/Feeling kinda lonely/And looking for the right guy/To be mine," she sings. In the pre-chorus, she fantasizes where her dream guy might be, "Maybe we'll meet at a bar/He'll drive a funky car/Maybe we'll meet at a club/And fall so deeply in love," she sings. In the chorus, she's eager to find a guy to love, "Alright maybe gonna find him today/I gotta get someone to call my lover/Yeah baby come on," she chants. Critical reception "Someone to Call My Lover" received generally favorable reviews from music critics, with most praising its innocence, sweetness, picking the song as a standout track on the album. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic picked the song as " one of the record's best cuts." Timothy Park of NME enjoyed the lyrics, writing that "while most of us dream of being Janet, it's reassuring to know she dreams of being us. And providing she does it with the ever-enduring Jam & Lewis produced fluffy pop of 'Someone To Call My Lover' then who are we to complain?." In another NME review, Piers Martin wrote that the song "recalls Aaliyah's 'Try Again' in its squelchy simplicity." Gene Stout of Seattle Post-Intelligencer praised the track, calling it "sweetly innocent," praising the "Ventura Highway guitar," writing that it "adds a wistful, nostalgic feel to the song's deep yearnings for love and togethernesss." The Bland Is Out There review was negative, writing that "While Jackson's music has relied heavily on samples, there was at least some creativity to it. They were weaved into the beat as a supplement." It called 'Someone To Call My Lover,' "the most unimaginative, laziest single Jackson has released." Chart performance The song was released as the second single from All For You, following the huge hit of its title track. It is the last of Jackson's singles to have reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart to date. On the Billboard Hot 100 chart, "Someone to Call My Lover" reached the top-forty in June, while it reached the top-ten in July. It eventually peaked at number 3, becoming her 28th top-10 hit. It also debuted at number-one on the Hot 100 Singles Sales chart, where it remained for 3 weeks. It also topped the R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales chart for 2 weeks. The song reached number 9 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart. "Someone to Call My Lover" reached the top-twenty in many places. In the UK, the song reached number 11, on the UK Singles Chart In Australia, the song debuted and peaked at number 15 on the ARIA Chart week of August 5, 2001, spending 9 weeks on the chart, while on the New Zealand Singles Chart, the song started at number 30, peaking at number 18 in its fourth week, spending a total of 15 weeks on the chart Music video The music video was directed by Francis Lawrence, and centers around a jukebox. Jackson is depicted driving and walking into a bar, where she sings, dances and eventually hitches a ride from a red car. A video for the So So Def Remix was also released, and contains similar footage to the original but contains shots of Dupri in alternate scenes as well as his vocals. The original video made the limited bonus-DVD edition of All for You while the So So Def Remix video appears on the 2004 video compilation From Janet. to Damita Jo: The Videos. Live performances Jackson performed the song only on the All for You Tour, as one of the last songs on the show. During the performance, Janet is wearing a white T-shirt and jeans, while using a garland of flowers, called Lei in Hawaii. The song was also included on her VHS/DVD show Janet: Live in Hawaii. "Someone To Call My Lover" was also the dedication song to Singapore for the Number Ones: Up Close and Personal World Tour. Track listings ;European 12" promo single (VSTDJ 1813) *Side A: #"Someone to Call My Lover" (So So Def Remix) – 4:40 #"Someone to Call My Lover" – 4:32 *Side B: #"Someone to Call My Lover" (Velvet Mix-Jam & Lewis) – 4:46 #"Someone to Call My Lover" (80's Remix-Jam & Lewis) – 5:08 ;European CD single (VSCDE 1813) #"Someone to Call My Lover" (Single Edit) – 4:14 #"Someone to Call My Lover" (So So Def Remix) – 4:40 ;European CD maxi single (7243 8 97773 2 1) #"Someone to Call My Lover" (Single Edit) – 4:14 #"Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Radio Edit) – 3:49 #"Someone to Call My Lover" (So So Def Remix) – 4:40 #"Someone to Call My Lover" (Velvet Mix) – 4:46 #"Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Club Mix) – 7:48 ;UK 12" promo single (VSTDJX 1813) #"Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Club Mix) – 7:48 #"Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Dub Mix) – 6:02 ;UK 12" single (VST 1813) *Side A: #"Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Club Mix) – 7:48 *Side B: #"Someone to Call My Lover" (So So Def Remix) – 4:40 #"Someone to Call My Lover" (The Velvet Mix) – 4:46 ;U.S. 12" promo single (SPRO-16408) *Side A: #"Someone to Call My Lover" (So So Def Remix) – 4:40 #"Someone to Call My Lover" (Album Version) – 4:32 *Side B: #"Someone to Call My Lover" (So So Def Instrumental) – 4:40 #"Someone to Call My Lover" (Album Instrumental) – 4:32 ;U.S. double 12" promo single (SPRO-16404) *Vinyl one – side A: #"Someone to Call My Lover" (Album Version) – 4:32 #"Someone to Call My Lover" (Album Instrumental) – 4:32 *Vinyl one – side B: #"Someone to Call My Lover" (So So Def Remix) – 4:40 #"Someone to Call My Lover" (So So Def Instrumental) – 4:40 *Vinyl two – side A: #"Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Club Vocal Mix) – 7:48 #"Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Radio Vocal Mix) – 3:49 *Vinyl two – side B: #"Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Dub Mix) – 6:02 #"Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Radio Acappella) – 3:49 ;U.S. CD single (7243 8 97773 0 7) ;UK CD single (VSCDT 1813) #"Someone to Call My Lover" (Single Edit) – 4:14 #"Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Club Mix) – 7:48 #"Someone to Call My Lover" (So So Def Remix) – 4:40 #"Someone to Call My Lover" (Video) ;Japanese promo CD single (VJCP-12141) ;Australian CD single (8977732) #"Someone to Call My Lover" (Single Edit) – 4:14 #"Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Radio Mix) – 3:49 #"Someone to Call My Lover" (So So Def Remix) – 4:40 #"Someone to Call My Lover" (The Velvet Mix) – 4:46 #"Someone to Call My Lover" (Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Club Mix) – 7:48 ;French promo CD single (VUSCDJ1813)< #"Someone to Call My Lover" (Single Edit) – 4:14 Official remixes * Album Version – 4:32 * Album Instrumental – 4:32 * Single Edit – 4:14 * Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Club Mix – 7:38 (= Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Vocal Mix or Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Club Vocal Mix) * Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Radio Mix – 3:49 * Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Radio A Cappella – 3:49 * Hex Hector/Mac Quayle Dub Mix – 6:02 * Velvet Mix – 4:46 * Jam & Lewis Total 80's Remix – 5:08 * So So Def Remix featuring Jermaine Dupri – 4:40 * So So Def Instrumental – 4:40 * So So Def Remix Acapella - 4:40 Charts Peak positions Year-end charts